With the arrival of spring the farmer's markets in the Bay area are over flowing with amazingly sweet produce. Leeks, fennel, spring onions, strawberries, beets and butter lettuce are at their peak of perfection and ready for the taking. Upon my return from the market this weekend, I began to unload my goodies from my earth friendly "green" canvas bag and set out my fresh selections on my kitchen table. I had the TV on, but was not really paying much attention. I then remembered that a new show was airing on Food Network, so I flipped the channel. "Cooking For Real", hosted by Sunny Anderson debut episode aired Sunday morning. Seeing that I have not been too impressed with the latest Food Network hosts, I was skeptical of Ms. Anderson's cooking ability. A refreshing surprise Sunny, was great. Sunny is friendly, knowledgeable, personable but not over the top "cute", and her food looked appealing. On today's show Sunny was preparing creamy Cajun shrimp pot pies with flaky pastry bowls. The dish looked yummy! Succulent shrimp, tender veggies and a luxurious cream sauce kicked up with cayenne. Inspired by Sunny I got in the kitchen and cooked. Since I teach people how to make pastry almost everyday I opted out on the puff pastry bowls and decided instead to make a seafood and fennel chowder. What better way to capture the essence of spring than to make a soup with tender leeks, sweet fennel and new potatoes.
The backbone to any good soup or sauce starts with the stock. I know not everyone has time to make it from scratch, however I am an advocate for those who truly want a magnificent soup, MAKE YOUR OWN STOCK! If available, ask your fish monger for fresh fish bones as well utilize all clean shells from any seafood you are using for your soup, for example shrimp, crab or lobster. Build your flavors by using essential aromatics such as onions, shallots, carrots and celery also known in the culinary world as mirepoix. Fresh herbs like parsley, thyme and tarragon add mild aromas. Unlike veal or chicken stock, which is more robust because of longer cooking, fish and seafood stocks do not require much time on the stove. The flavor is clean, bright and reminiscent of a sweet ocean mist. A touch of acid from citrus or a crisp white wine helps to round out the flavors.
I simmered a lovely stock with shallots, leeks, fennel fronds, celery, carrots, parsley stems, shrimp and clam shells over a mild heat for about an hour. When the stock was ready, I strained it and set it aside. In another soup pot I melted butter and slowly cooked minced shallots, chopped celery, carrots and thinly sliced leeks and fennel bulb until tender. I deglazed the aromatics with a hearty splash of Sauvignon blanc and scrapped all the tasty bits off the bottom of the stock pot. I added the stock along with a few cups of petite diced gold potatoes, brought the soup to a slight boil, then covered and simmered until the potatoes were fork tender. Next I added chunks of sole filet, chopped shrimp and plump clams. I finished the chowder with some heavy cream, sniped chives and wispy fennel fronds. Classic techinques and local fresh produce helped to create a luscious chowder rich in flavor, hearty in texture and oh so delecious
This week the Food Network aired new episodes of Chefography. I was pleased to see that Julia Child was featured. Julia is my culinary hero. She is, and always will be, a culinary icon. As a young child I was mesmerized by her sense of play in the kitchen, her unique accent, and all of the mishaps that occurred while she cooked. Creative production allowed Julia to be in the moment and think on the spot. No rehearsing, no editing, just real live cooking. Can we go back to this? I would love to bring this to the masses. Back to basics cooking, where anything goes, the flow is organic and unpredictable. Where host and viewer learn something new. Until then, I will cook in my San Francisco kitchen, continue to blog and explore new trends in the food world as well as refer back to tried and true culinary techniques. Thank You Julia.
